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Timothy Quill
| name = Timothy Quill | image = File:Timothy Quill young.jpg | caption = | office = Teachta Dála | term_start = June 1927 | term_end = September 1927 | constituency = Cork North | birth_date = | birth_place = Clondrohid, Macroom, County Cork, Ireland | death_date = | death_place = Blarney, County Cork, Ireland | known_for = Co-founder and former secretary of the Cork Co-operative Society | party = Labour Party | children = 6 | relatives = Maud Mitchell (parent-in-law), Herbert 'Sean' Mitchell (parent-in-law), Ruth Mitchell-Quill (daughter-in-law) | parents = Daniel and Mary Quill | occupation = Co-operator; philanthropist | residence = Ferney, Blackrock, Cork }} Timothy Quill (9 May 1901 – 10 June 1960) was an Irish Labour Party politician, social philosopher, philanthropist and prominent figure in the co-operative movement in early to mid 20th-century Ireland. He was a founder of the Cork Co-operative Society (also serving as the society's secretary), and was the editor of 'The Cork Co-Operator' publication. The Labour Party was the movement's party political wing. Early life Timothy Quill was born to Daniel and Mary Quill in Clondrohid, Macroom, County Cork, on 9 May 1901. He had five siblings in total, all brothers. June 1927 general election After the 1923 general election, the sitting TDs in the recently created Cork North constituency were Daniel Corkery (Republican), Daniel Vaughan (Farmers’ Party) and Thomas Nagle (Labour). Nagle had previously been elected in the 1922 general election under the Labour banner for the Cork Mid/North/South/South East and West constituency. In the June 1927 election, he was one of three Labour Party candidates to run in Dublin South, but was not elected. Daniel Corkery had been elected in each general election he had participated in to date, including the 1921 and 1922 elections. Daniel Vaughan had also been elected in 1922 and was a fan favourite with the farming electorate until his last campaign in 1933. Quill had only recently turned 26 years old going into his first general election on 9 June 1927. The recently created Fianna Fail was about to contest its first election, but had not yet decided to take its seats in the Dail. Daniel Corkery was running as an ‘independent republican’ candidate, as he was willing to take his seat if elected. He was elected to Dáil Éireann as a Labour Party Teachta Dála (TD) for the Cork North constituency at the June 1927 general election. Slogans, such as Be Labour This Time and Away With Slums & Mud Cabins were featured on his election posters. Quill won 4,165 first preference votes (17.9%) finishing second place to Daniel Corkery and taking the last seat in the constituency after Vaughan received transfers from his running mate, Daniel Forde. He was an outspoken opponent of the 1927 Public Safety Act. During a debate on the bill on 3 August 1927, he said; Coincidentally, the Public Safety Act resulted in the conviction of Herbert Mitchell from Kerry Pike, the father of one of his future daughters-in-law, whom was sentenced to 12 months of hard labour in 1929 for being a member of the IRA. The IRA at this time had fewer than 2,000 members, and remained as a perceived threat to the Free State by Cumann na nGaedheal in the late 1920s, which largely encouraged the introduction of the Act. On 5 July 1927, in the committee on finance regarding old age pensions, he opposed the methods and harsh manner of pensions officers. Expressing his view, he said; September 1927 general election Quill lost his seat at the September 1927 general election. Daniel Corkery topped the poll under the Fianna Fail banner with a 30% share of first preference votes, followed closely by new Cumman na nGaedheal candidate and rival Daniel O'Leary, taking a 27.4% share of first preferences. Daniel Vaughan took the final seat with a 20% share. Quill received 4,123 first preference votes. Despite receiving only 42 less votes than he did in June of that year, his percentage share dropped to 16%. As a result of this, he only served 3 months as a TD. 1937 general election As a city councillor on the Cork Corporation, Quill contested the 1937 general election. Unlike the general elections 10 years beforehand, the majority of his rivals were Fianna Fail and Fine Gael candidates, with the exception of one independent candidate. Quill received 5,874 first preference votes (1,659 more votes than he received in his successful June 1927 campaign), taking a 14.9% share of the vote. However, Con Meaney (FF) with 4,024 votes (10.29%) received transfers from Patrick Murphy (FF), pipping Quill to the final seat. As a result of this, Quill was not elected. 1938 general election Quill ran again in the 1938 general election. Moylan, Linehan, Daly and Meaney were successfully elected. Quill received 4,950 first preference votes (12.6%). This was to be his last general election campaign, however he would remain as an elected city councillor on the Cork Corporation. City Councillor on the Cork Corporation He was also elected to the Cork Corporation and served as a city councillor. The City Councillor’s 1920-1945 roll book seems to record that T Quill was elected in 1936. There was a local election in the city almost every year from 1929 to 1936 to elect portions of the city council, and others in 1942 and 1945. He is still listed as a councillor in this book in 1944-1945. He owned land in Ferney, Blackrock, Cork. This appears as his address in a number of council records. The Cork Co-Operator Quill was the editor of The Cork Co-Operator, a monthly publication in Cork. The paper attracted the attention of Steve Denny, the director of the London Co-operative Society (England's largest co-op society at the time). He wrote a letter to Quill, which was published on the cover of the June 1939 issue. In it, he described the publication as a 'bright little paper' and described the co-operative movement as natural, stating; 'Has it ever struck you that everyone of your readers are actually born to be Co-operators, in fact made for Co-operation. Our feet, hands, eyes, eyelids, upper and lower teeth all working together (that is what Co-operation means) for our personal good. Believe me when I say, that in isolation our desires exceed our powers, but in co-operation our powers exceed our desires. To act in company with others, to work or co-operate one with the other is just simply natural.' Personal life He also used an Irish language version of his name, Taig Ui Cuill, (using various spellings of his first name, including 'Taig', and 'Tadgh'), with his last name spelled as 'Ui Cuill'. Issues of 'The Cork Co-Operator' from 1939 show his name stylised as 'T. Quill'. He was married to Mary McCarthy up to his death in 1960 and they had six children. The Timothy Quill Perpetual Challenge Cup for the MAS (Munster Agricultural Society) Holstein Friesian Senior Cow Class at Cork Summer Show is named after him. He died from a heart attack on 10 June 1960, aged 59 years. |Timothy Quill election posters, circa. 1927 File:Timothy Quill election poster 1938.jpg|1938 election address File:Timothy Quill Labour Party Local gov book 1924.jpg|Timothy Quill Local Government Handbook 1924 File:Timothy Quill alternative name Labour Party.jpg|A variation of Timothy Quill's name and former address in Irish. Various spellings included 'Taig' and 'Tadgh'. File:1 T QUILL.jpg|Cover page of a 1939 issue of The Cork Co-Operator. References External links Category:1901 births Category:1960 deaths Category:Labour Party (Ireland) TDs Category:Members of the 5th Dáil Category:Politicians from County Cork